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I think it's simpler. Religion and science answer different questions, because if they ever disagree on an answer, it instantly ceases to be a religious questio
by analog31 4y ago
I think it's simpler. Religion and science answer different questions, because if they ever disagree on an answer, it instantly ceases to be a religious question. Never the other way around. This asymmetry is like the arrow of increasing entropy, always pointing towards science.
Another asymmetry is that it's possible to hold scientific and religious beliefs at the same time (thanks to the above), but never two different religions at the same time. I know lots of Catholic scientists, but no Catholic Buddhists.
- pqs 4y agoThere are Catholic Zen Masters [1], so, somehow, it is possible to be Catholic and Buddhist. As a Catholic who dabbled in Zen when I was lost, I don't really understand how this can be combined, but this exists. My current view is that in Catholicism you'll find everything that Zen has to offer (silence, meditation, living in the present, honor the little details of life, etc.) and a lot more [2]. From a Catholic point of view, there is no contradiction, whatsoever, between science and religion. It is perfectly compatible and there is no contradiction with scripture. The problems are with scientism. [1]: https://www.ncronline.org/news/i-wanted-faith-was-deeper-jesuit-priest-and-zen-master-part-i https://www.ncronline.org/news/i-wanted-faith-was-deeper-jes... [2]: See, for example, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.
- shakna 4y ago> Another asymmetry is that it's possible to hold scientific and religious beliefs at the same time (thanks to the above), but never two different religions at the same time. That's not true at all. Religious syncretism is a very old concept, and involves the blending of religions. There are Catholic Buddhists, for example, and there have been those professing to follow that since around the 1600s. You'll also find many blends of traditional Incan beliefs and Catholicism, despite the surface-level incompatibilities, in South America. One specific example might be Caodaism, which blends elements of Catholicism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Caodaism has about 2.5Mil followers in Vietnam. One of the core tenants of the religion is that we are now living in a period of time called the Third Amnesty, the end of which will be marked by the syncretism of _all_ religions into one.
- igouy 4y ago> … the blending of religions. And when they conflict? We can blend oil and vinegar but they'll settle out into oil and vinegar.
- shakna 4y agoIncan beliefs are polytheistic, and Catholicism is monotheistic. There are still a myriad of syncretic forms of the two.
- igouy 4y agoDoesn't seem like you responded to the question?
- shakna 4y agoPolytheism and monotheism are completely incompatible. However, syncretic religions of incompatible elements actually exist. Thus, the assumption that they can't, is wrong.
- igouy 4y agoThat doesn't seem like holding incompatible religious beliefs at the same time ("… possible to hold scientific and religious beliefs at the same time…"). That seems like picking one religious belief over another, on an ad hoc basis.